The first stop on my quest for the best cupcake Toronto can serve up was the Sweet Escape Patisserie in the Distillery District.  Though the their sign displays a pretty pink cupcake, the Sweet Escape Patisserie is not just for cupcakes, it is a cafe with a large selection of baked goods and sandwiches.  I ventured down there last Sunday, and enjoyed a cup of coffee with my cupcake.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake from Sweet Escape Patisserie(Leah Wong)

Flavour: Chocolate Raspberry

Cake: 4/5
Icing: 3/5
Presentation: 5/5
Flavour Variety: 3/5
Location: 4/5
Total Points: 19/25

While I enjoyed the chocolate cake, I found it to be very moist. Though the icing had a slight raspberry taste, it was too heavy and I would have preferred a stronger flavour. Visually, the cupcakes were very appealing.  Sweet Escape Patisserie offers a large variety of cupcakes on their website, but as they offer a variety of baked goods, the selection varies depending on when you are there.  However, if you are frequenting this cafe with a non-cupcake eater, there are many other options of baked goods for them to enjoy, including several gluten-free vegan treats which are hard to come by.  When I visited the store, they had five flavours available: vanilla, chocolate raspberry, red velvet, black forest and lemon.  There are many flavours on their website I would like to sample in the future, creating a need to return.  The cafe is located in the Distillery District, so while it is a bit out of the way to go for a cupcake, it is in a nice area with lots of things to see.  The cafe itself has many sit down tables, which a nice way to take a break and regroup if you’ve been exploring the Distillery District for a while.  If you’re in the area I would highly recommend trying a cupcake from Sweet Escape Patisserie, but it wasn’t good enough to warrant a special trip.